Four Rs of Sustainability

Sustainably Sadie

4 Rs of Sustainability

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.  In my Buy Local research I have come across programs that add the word Rethink as the fourth “R”, referring to rethinking your connection to your community.  There are environmental benefits to shifting part of your family budget to the local economy.  Buying close to home Reduces your carbon footprint (think driving to Bozeman versus driving 9 miles up the road).  Money spent in your local community stays in your community.    Sustaining our beautiful, natural environment (it’s what we love about living here, right?) requires that we Reduce our usage, Reduce our consumption, Reduce the amount of packaging we bring into our homes and eventually our landfills. 

Reuse glass containers; Reuse your plastic containers in reasonable ways (plastic eventually begins to break down and leach toxins); Reuse in creative and safe ways.  Plastic peanut butter jars can easily become storage containers, craft projects or works of art!  I prefer to store food in glass but non-consumable goods (buttons, twist ties, rubber bands, plastic grocery sacks, anything) can be stored in matching repurposed containers.  With Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day approaching consider letting the kids decorate those jars with markers, paint, stickers, and glitter for a unique flower vase.  Are there other products you could reuse/ repurpose for unique flowers?  Before the holidays, our daughter had made in school beautiful Christmas ornaments from old Christmas cards.  Clear salad container can be used to start seeds in soil—they easily become mini greenhouses.  Spent toilet paper rolls can also be used to start seeds indoors and then planted directly in your garden when it is warm enough—the cardboard is biodegradable and will break down.  Cut one end of the roll with four slits and then fold together to create a cup with flat bottom.   

Every Madison County dump site is supposed to have recycling bins.  The Waterloo dump is one exception that leaps to mind.  In Twin Bridges, also the site of the Madison County landfill, we have glass, aluminum/ tin, newspaper, cardboard recycling.  Plastic recycling can be found in Ennis, Bozeman and Butte for #1 and #2 plastics.  A quick Google search found www.recyclemontana.org and www.recyclebutte.com.  Recycling, Repurposing, and Reusing in creative ways, for some, has become successful small business ventures.  Barn wood, horse drawn machinery, and antiques are resold; Reusing products reduces the devastating affects of how over-consumption is negatively changing our global environment.  Rethinking how you shop and buy for your family can result in extremely beneficial changes not only for the local economy but also the planet.  Do you need to buy individual serving packs because they are convenient or could you separate large bags of chips, popcorn, cookies at home into small reusable containers?  Share your successes, find people to co-op recycling trips, and ask questions at www.sustainablysadie.blogspot.com.  Email sustainablysadie@hotmail.com, call 531-1422. 

Twin Bits

Kerstin Clark is offering Winter Reading and Activity Hour for kids 2 -5 years old at the Twin Bridges Public Library every Monday 10 – 11 am until March 26.  Programs will not be held on non-school days; the TB Public Library is contact for this event, 684-5416. 

The River’s Edge Gallery is going to be offering weekly art classes for kids 4^th – 8^th grade and 9^th to adult.  More info to come.  Look for the River’s Edge Gallery on Facebook. 

Also on Facebook, the Twin Bridges Community Association.  A busy group of worker bees who care about their community:  work party 10 am to Noon @ The Old Hotel to spruce up the wreaths that adorn Main Street, Saturday January, 14; TBCA board annual budget meeting @ The Shack Noon, Friday January 13; regular mtg @ The Old Hotel, 8:30 am, Friday, January 20. 

The GRVCCA Annual membership meeting, 5:30 to 7:30 pm at The Philanthropy Building in Sheridan, Thursday February 16.

Thurs Jan 12:  BB @ Shields Valley & Wilsall, 4 pm; JrHi BBB @ Lima, 4:30 pm

Friday Jan 13: BB w/ Lima @ Home, 5:30 pm BG

Saturday Jan 14:  Speech & Drama @ Three Forks; JrHi BBB TB Tourney @ Home; BB @ Sheridan, 2:30 pm BGBG

Monday Jan 16:  Trailblazers 4-H mtg 7 pm in TBS Lunchroom.

Tues. Jan 17:  School Board mtg, 7 pm MT Room

Jan 18 - 20:  TBS semester tests

Friday Jan. 20:  Early out, 12:30 pm.  BB @ Harrison GBGB

Saturday Jan. 21:  Speech & Drama Divisionals @ Gardiner; BB w/ Gardiner @ Home, 2:30 pm GBGB; 2^nd – 5^th Grades, BB Practice in MP Gym, 9 am to 11 am, 2^nd – 5^th Girls play @ ½ time @ 7 pm Varsity Game.

No school Monday January 23. 

Let me know what I’m missing: email or call with your event information.